Quartz-mill.



4 O 9 l 6 m P E S D E T N E T A P C. E. HUMPHREYS.

QUARTZ MILL. APPLICATION FILE? AUG. 20, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

"N0 MODEL.

VV/itznessea- No. 769,610. PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904. 0. E. HUMPHREYS.

QUARTZ MILL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20, 1903. N0 MODEL.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses:-

TJNTTED STATES PATENT Patented September 6, 1904.

FFICE,

QUARTZ-MILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,610, dated September 6, 1904.

Application filed August 20, 1903.

To (LIZ lU/b/Hlb it many con/corn:

Be it known that LGHARLES E. HUMPnRnYs, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vall er,,in the county of Siskiyou and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Quartz-Mills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in grinding and crushing mills of the rotary type. Its object is to provide a mill of simple construction particularly adapted for the reduction of gold-bearing ores and which shall be economical in operation and of large capacity.

It consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter more fully described, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan of same. Fig. 3 is a section through the disks. Fig. 4: is a detail of a hammer. Fig. 5 is a side view of the die removed, showing removable shoes.

A represents a mortar of suitable size and material properly supported, as indicated at 2. The top of the mortar is formed with a recess or opening-3, in the concaved bottom of which is set a sectional segmental die at.

Disposed above and substantially concentrio with the die is the drive-shaft 5, receiving motionfrom any suitable source of power, and to which are fixed two spaced disks or flanges 6, forming a wheel in which the hammers T are pivoted. The hammers have each short handle portions with the lateral pivot projections 8, which engage in suitable recesses in opposed lugs 9, cast on the adjacent faces of the rotary flanges 6. The lugs 9 form, in fact, journal-boxes for the pivots 8, while the lugs, the lateral pivot projections 8, and the handles are perforated coincidently to receive the hinge-bolts 10, by which the hammers are held in place bet-ween the flanges. The lugs 9 are recessed, as shown at 11, on the side adjacent to shaft 5 to admit a hammer, and so avoid the necessity of dismantling the entire mill when it is desired to remove a hammer or renew a shoe 12.

In the rotation of the wheel the hammers Serial No. 170,125. (No model.)

are projected outward by centrifugal force beyond the periphery of the wheel and made to impinge in their downward stroke upon an inclined stationary die-section 13, which is a continuation of the segmental die 4:.

The ore is fed from a hopper 11 upon the die 13, where it is first crushed by the dropping hammers and then swept down into the mortar to be further pulverized and ground by the successive action of the hammers rubhing over the concaved surface of die at. A removable casing 11 incloses the hammers during operations, retains the pulp, and prevents splash outside the mortar. The finely-comminnted ore will be discharged as pulp through screens 15 at each side of the mortar upon the silvered plates in trough 16, the gangue flowing off and the precious particles collected as amalgam.

17 is a heavy cast-iron ring hung loose on the hub of the wheel between the flanges and adapted to have its lower side rest on the top of the hammers during their transit over the dies and to support the overhead hammers. This ring serves two purposes. It limits the inward movement of the hammers during their overhead traverse and supports them so that they will be projected outward at the right moment, and, secondly, they bear upon the grinding-hammers with the added weight of the overhead hammers, and so greatly increase the pulverizing power of the mill.

ln order to limit the movement of the hammers about their pivots and cause the heads to strike the die 13 at the proper angle, 1 provide bolts 18, which extend across the space between the wheel-flanges to catch the tail of the hammer-handle as the head flies out.

"henever a clean-up is to be made, the feed of ore upon the die is discontinued and bolts, as 19, may be inserted through the flanges and beneath the hammers to hold the latter out of contact with the die 13 and allow them to act only upon the ore in the mortar and against die t. Any coarse material remaining in the mortar may thus be reduced to pulp before removing casing u.

The mill has the essential crushing characteristics of a stamp-mill and the pulverizing and grinding qualities of an arrastre. ltditfers I00 from the latter in that it is disposed vertically, while the arrastre is disposed horizontally.

It is desirable that the ore be fed to the crushing-die at intervals relative to the blows struck by the hammers. If the ore is of ordinary character, a fresh charge will be fed to the die prior to each blow. If the ore is very hard, it may be desired to deliver it only at each alternate blow. Accordingly I have shown feed mechanism and means for operating it intermittently, as follows:

20 is an inclined reciprocating plate in the bottom of hopper 14: and is adapted on each forward reciprocation to carry a quantity of ore received from bin 21 beneath the flap 22 and into position over die 13. On the return reciprocation the flap 22, whose backward movement is limited by stops 23, scrapes off the ore on the plate and deposits it upon the die in advance of the falling hammer.

The feed of ore from bin 21 is controlled by a suitable slide-gate, as 24. The forward feed of the ore. by the plate is assured by the projection or pusher 25. The plate is normally held in retracted position by means of the spring 26. The feed-plate is given a movement coordinate with the hammers by means of the radial arm 27, secured to shaft 5, engaging a bar 28, held in suitable guides 29. Bar 28 is connected at the opposite end with a lever 30, fulcrumed intermediate of its ends, as at 31,

and lever 30 carries an arm 32, engaging in a slot 33 in plate 20.

In operation the arms 27 engage the bar 28 to transmit an intermittent reciprocating movement to plate 20 alternately with the hammer-blows. The recoil of the feed-plate, aided by the pivoted cut-off plate 22, causes a quantity of ore to be deposited on the face of die 13 in advance of each hammer. The arms 27 are made telescoping, so that opposite arms may be shortened to miss the end of bar 28, and hence impart movement to feed-plate 27 only at every other blow of the hammers. The hammers are preferably made to receive the removable shoes 12. The grinding-die 4 is preferably made in sections, as shown, and may have a corrugated or recessed or riffled surface or may be perforated, as shown in Fig. 5. In the latter case they are adapted to utilize the scrap of the shoe-stems after the shoes 12 are worn out. The thickness of the die is approximately equal to the length of a shoe-stem, and by making the perforations in the dies conical and inserting the stems up through these perforations and providing a suitable seat for the protuberant heads of the shoes in the bottom of the mortar the millman is enabled to make use of his old shoes even after they had served their original'purpose. The shoes are ordinarily very hard.

The weight supplied by their stems is that much weight saved in the dies.

The mill is adapted either as a dry or a wet crusher. It is economical of construction,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a quartz or like mill, the combination with a rotatable support and a series of pivoted hammers hung thereon, of a segmental die having an anvil formed upon the receiving end thereof and projected into the range of action of the striking-face of the hammers whereby said hammers are capable of striking percussive blows upon the anvil, means whereby the hammers after striking said blows turn about their pivots and drag over the curved face of the die, means whereby the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammer, and means for feeding ore upon the anvil between the strokes of the hammers.

2. A quartz or like mill comprising a mortar, a segmental die therein having an anvil at its receiving end upon which the ore is delivered, a series of radially-mounted hammers disposed in a vertical plane operating in conjunction with said die during a portion of their revolution, and means whereby the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammer.

3. A quartz or like mill comprising a mortar having a concaved working face, a shaft approximately concentric with said face, a plurality of pivoted hammers in a vertical plane carried by said shaft impinging on said face of the mortar, means by which the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammer, and means for supporting the hammers.

4. A quartz or like mill comprising a mortar having a concaved Working face, a rotatable shaft, a series of hammers carried thereby, and a ring inclosing the shaft and having a bore of greater diameter than the shaft whereby the ring is loosely mounted and the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammer.

5. A quartz or like mill comprising a mortar having a concaved working face and a receiving end so nearly horizontal that ore delivered thereon will be temporarily held, a shaft approximately concentric with said working face of the mortar, a plurality of pivoted hammers carried by the shaft and movable in an are essentially coincident with said face, said receiving end of the mortar lying within the range of action of the hammers, means whereby the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammer, and means for deliver ing ore upon said receiving end of the mortar.

6. A quartz or like mill comprising a mortarhaving a eoncaved working face and an anvil-section at the receiving end thereof, a shaft approximately concentric with the face of the mortar, a plurality of pivoted hammers carried by the shaft, a loose ring the bore of which is greater than the diameter of the shaft said ring supporting the idle hammer whereby the centrifugal force of the grinding-hammers is augmented by the Weight of the temporarily idle hammer, and means for delivering ore intermittently to the said receivingsection of the mortar.

T. A quartz or like mill comprising a rotary support disposed in a vertical plane, a series of hammers pivoted thereon, a segmental die, an inclined continuation of said die in the path of said hammers, means by which the centrifugal force of the grinding hammers is augmented by the weight of the temporarily idle hammers, and means for feeding ore intermittently upon said inclined portion relative to the hammer movement.

S. A quartz or like mill comprising arotary support disposed in a vertical plane, hammers pivoted thereon, a segmental grinding-surface in the path of said hammers, said hammers having handles pivoted intermediate of their ends and stops disposed in the path of the outer ends of the handles to limit movement about their pivots, and means for feeding ore intermediate of the hammers and said grinding-surface, said means including a stationary feed chute or hopper, and a reciprocating feed member cooperating therewith and provided with a projection or pusher.

9. In a quartz or like mill, the combination with a mortar of means for feeding ore thereto intermittently, said means including a source of ore-supply, a pusher reciprocating in the path of the ore, a hinged cut-off valve cooperating with said pusher to effect discharge, and means for reciprocating the pusher ineluding a spring-retracted plate carrying the pusher back of its forward end, a centrallypivoted lever having one arm connected to said plate, a reciprocating bar connected to the opposite arm of the lever, and means for periodically operating said bar.

10. In a quartz orlike mill, the combination with a mortar a rotary lliIHlHlOP-SUPDOIt and hammers pivoted on said support, and having handles pivoted intermediate of their end, and stops disposed in the path of the outer ends of the handles to limit movement about their pivots, of means for feeding ore to said mor tar, said means including a feed-chute, a reciprocating pusher, and means for giving said pusher a movement coordinate with the hammers.

11. In a quartz or like mill, the combination with a mortar, of a wheel mounted relative thereto carrying pivoted hammers coaeting with the dies in said mortar, of means for limiting the inward movement of said hammers, said means iucluding ring having a bore whose diameter is suflieiently greater than the diameter of the shaft as to allow the ring to shift its position relative to said shaft.

12. In a mill of the type described, a rotary hammer-support, hammer members thereon and each including a striking-head and a handle said handle pivoted intermediate of its length and provided with lateral pivotal projeetions, and stops on the support in the path of the outer ends of the handles and adapted to limit the movement of the hammers about their pivots.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES E. HUMPHREYS.

\Vitnesses:

S. H. Nonnse, l). B. Riouiums. 

